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Woody Woodpecker (episode)
Woody Woodpecker is the first animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on July 7, 1941, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. Plot The inhabitants of the forest that Woody Woodpecker (Mel Blanc) lives in have started spreading the word that Woody is crazy, due to all of his screwball antics. After telling him (and many others) this several times, Woody also begins to question his sanity. So he goes to a psychiatrist, a wolf with a German accent (Blanc), only to find that the doctor may be more cracked than the woodpecker himself. Trivia *The song, performed by Mel Blanc at the beginning of the Woody Woodpecker, would make a reappearance in The Loan Stranger (recycled audio of Blanc). The song's last two lines would then make an appearance at the end of Hot Rod Huckster, this time performed by Grace Stafford. :Everybody thinks I'm crazzzy! :Yesiree, that's me, that's me! :That's what I'm cracked up to be, :I chop a hole in every tree! :Knock on wood! :KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK :Well, knock on wood! :KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK :So I'm crazy, but what, what, what can I do? :So are you! *Like most of the early 1940s Lantz cartoons, Woody Woodpecker carried no director's credit. Lantz himself has claimed to have directed this cartoon, which features animation by Alex Lovy, Ray Fahringer, Lester Kline and LaVerne Harding (both uncredited), a story co-written by Lantz (uncredited), Ben Hardaway, Lowell Elliott, and Jack Cosgriff, and music by Darrell Calker. *This "cartune" featured the second appearance of Woody Woodpecker (who first appeared in the Andy Panda cartune "Knock Knock"), his first solo short, and was the first in which the character's name was used. Also, voice actor Mel Blanc recorded a newer, more infectious version of Woody's laugh that would be used (even after Blanc got an exclusive WB contract) until 1950 when Grace Stafford recorded an even newer, more friendlier, refined version. Blanc would also re-record Woody's "Guess Who?!" signature line for this entry, and the recording would then be utilized for the entire run of the series. However, this is also the last short to feature Blanc performing new dialogue for Woody. *Just as with Knock Knock, Woody Woodpecker features the early garish Woody design, with red "vest feathers" (instead of a white one), buck teeth in some shots, thick ringed legs, a green tail, and a big chin which made him look more like a pelican than a woodpecker. This design was softened by 1942, and then later replaced with a more realistic version by 1944. This 1944 design would also be easier to animate. *In the 1960s, Woody Woodpecker re-released theatrically as The Cracked Nut. Video Category:Episodes Category:Woody Woodpecker Episodes Category:Cartoons directed by Walter Lantz Category:Cartoons written by Ben Hardaway Category:Cartoons written by Jack Cosgriff Category:Cartoons animated by Alex Lovy Category:Cartoons animated by Ray Fahringer Category:Cartoons with music by Darrell Calker Category:1941 films Category:Woody Woodpecker films Category:Cartoons Where Woody Woodpecker Loses In The End Category:Cartoons with Woody Woodpecker as Antagonist Category:Cartoons with song Category:Cartoons with Woody Woodpecker as the Antagonist